Written by Laura Jones - Media/Communications   

Anxiety disorders interfere with daily life making it very difficult for some people to function naturally. So imagine how useful an ‘anxiety predictor’ would be, this predictor would provide insight into what type of person will develop an anxiety disorder. To be able to identify the type of individual who will produce this type of disorder would mean the disorder could be treated before it reaches its peak, preventing the individual from suffering the distress that comes with an anxiety disorder.

An on-going, longitudinal study, is currently attempting just this. The study is by American Professor Michelle Craske and it is one of the first to combine and investigate physiological, cognitive, personality measures as well as stressors. Craske is half way through the eight year study, which aims to tell in advance who will develop an anxiety disorder. It was decided to use 16 years old students as participants, as it was assumed they would not be experiencing anxiety or depression. It was actually found that 20% of the 650 students were already experiencing or had experienced an anxiety disorder, and 30% had either already been through or were currently experiencing a mood disorder.

It is known from many studies that Neuroticism is one of the main forecasters of anxiety and depression. Neuroticism is experiencing negative emotions easily, such as anger, guilt, anxiety, depression, vulnerability and sadness. Usually when an individual has high neuroticism they are often overly anxious for no obvious reason. This can cause the individual confusion and distress, and can often get in the way of their everyday life.

Craske and her colleagues decided to use a computer test as part of the study, which combined a series of ‘safe’ and ‘danger’ screens. ‘Danger’ screens could trigger small muscle shocks to the participant. A countdown bar was used to indicate when the shock was coming, the screen also became redder. A green ‘safe’ screen indicated they would get no shocks. Physiological reactions are being measured throughout this experiment, for example the “startle reflex”, this is measured by eye blinks, heart rate and sweat gland activity.

It was found that participants with high neuroticism showed a stronger response under the non-imminent screens and importantly, under the safe screens and early stages of danger screens. According to Craske “This type of responding may explain why neuroticism contributes to the development of pervasive anxiety." It is interesting to find that these participants were anxious during ‘safe’ screens, this shows the amount of distress simply caused just at the thought of danger ahead. Being able to identify what type of person will worry unnecessarily will be a valuable discovery as it will improve the quality of life for those suffering from an anxiety disorder.

At the end of this experiment Craske and her colleagues hope to be able to identify the risk factors that cause anxiety and depression. Craske stated “If those at risk can be identified in advance, perhaps they can be treated with an early intervention, reducing the risk for later anxiety problems.” It is good to know that this type of prevention research is going on as it could make a huge difference to people’s lives.